


Memories

by purplebird76



Category: Natsume Yuujinchou | Natsume's Book of Friends
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-25
Updated: 2015-03-25
Packaged: 2018-03-19 15:27:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3614946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/purplebird76/pseuds/purplebird76
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Natsume and Nyanko-sensei meet with a youkai with a special ability in order to learn more information about Natsume's grandmother, Reiko. From Natsume-kun's POV.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer- I do not own Natsume Yuujinchou or anything pertaining to it.

"Hey, Nyanko-sensei? I've been wondering, do you think that there is anything I can do to find out more about my grandmother?", I finally got up the courage to ask. Whenever I would ask my family about her, they would insult her or change the subject. I think that Nyanko-sensei liked my grandmother but I also don't want to be proven wrong.

"Hmm…you could probably track down some of the youkai she enslaved, there were a lot of them. You have all of them written in the Book of Friends."

"Yeah, but it's just their names. It doesn't tell us how to find them. Wait, Nyanko-sensei, can't I use the names to summon the youkai?"

"No you can't, Natsume. You've never met them before. Haven't you been listening to the things I tell you? To summon the youkai in the book, you have to be in possession of the name and picture the youkai in your mind. If you've never met them before how the hell are you supposed to picture them?"

Well that's disappointing. "Do you have any other ideas, Sensei?"  
"Well I do know this youkai who could help, but he's EXTREMELY hard to deal with. Unfortunately, if you want to know more about Reiko, he's our best bet. Come with me, Natsume."

And so, I watched Nyanko transform into his demon form and he motioned for me to climb onto his back. As we began to fly, I moved my hands through his fur and let my mind wander. Whenever he's in this form he is always so soft. Is he normally this soft or does he put in maintenance when I'm not looking? Does he groom himself like a cat or does he bathe in water? Oh god, I don't want to imagine how large his hairballs are..

As I entertained myself with his fluff, we flew over forests, towns, and several mountains. After a while, Nyanko glided down to meet a mountain side. As we moved closer, I could see a rather small opening peeking out from behind overgrown bushes.

Nyanko shrank back into a cat before wiggling himself through the bushes and yelling, "Hyusei! Come out! I need a favor!" We heard his words echo deeper and deeper into the cave. We waited. And waited. And waited. "Um sensei, I don't think he heard you." I heard a small 'tsk' and then Nyanko began throwing rocks against the cave and screaming into the cave's entrance.

Accompanied with a low growl, a large figure emerged from the darkness of the cave. "Hyusei" was very tall, looked past 6 ft, muscular, and wore a white cat mask with blood red detail work.

"What is with all this noise?! I was taking a nap-", suddenly he turned towards the overgrown bushes blocking the entryway. "What happened to my plants!? They were so small just a few decades ago."

"Hyusei, plants grow." Nyanko-sensei said with a very annoyed look on his face.

"Huh? That voice….Madara?", Hyusei bent down to get a closer look. "Good god! Is that really you? What is with that form? Is that what you think a cat is supposed to look like?! You aren't cute at all!" Hyusei crosses his arms and with a scowl visible through his voice, he says, "You are a disgrace to cat-kind."

Nyanko sighs. "Hyusei, stop with all this nonsense. We need a favor from you."

"No." Is he pouting? "I'm not going to do anything until you turn back into your usual fluffy self."

Ah, so I'm not the only one who thinks that his youkai form is fluffy.

"Fine. Natsume you go tell him what you want him to do." Nyanko-sensei then began turning back into his "usual fluffy self", making Hyusei look proud of himself for being able to command/persuade the great Madara.

"Hyusei, I need you to help me learn about my dead grandmother." 

"Oh, that's all? That's simple enough. But you'll only be able to go for 3 hours since you're a human and all.", Hyusei says casually.

"Wait, where am I going?" I didn't know I was going anywhere; I figured we were just going to have a conversation.

"Oh, Madara didn't tell you? I have the ability to send a person through another person's memories. Sadly, there are a good many rules, like the person has to be asleep, the person has to keep the other person in mind while the blood takes effect, one drop lasts 3 hours, two drops lasts 6 hours—"

"Uhhh excuse me, I think I heard wrong, a drop of what?"

"Blood, didn't you hear me?" Hyusei was acting like drinking blood was a perfectly normal thing to do.

Nyanko cut in and began trying to explain,"You see Hyusei, humans don't usually drink blood and that's why he's so confused."  
"Umm, Nyanko-sensei, do I really have to drink blood?", I asked, genuinely concerned. I'm a human, wouldn't drinking demon blood have bad side-effects? It never turns out well in the movies.

"Goodness, Natsume. It's just a drop, stop being such a coward."

"Human! Did you just call Madara 'Nyanko-sensei'? Hey, hey Madara, can I call you that too?"

Hyusei then began skipping around us like a school-girl chanting "Nyanko-sensei~~~ !" He kinda reminds me of Taki when she fangirls over Nyanko-sensei. Now that I think about it, Nyanko-sensei has always seemed uncomfortable around Taki, Hyusei must be why. Poor guy.

I should probably interrupt.."Hey Hyusei? Can we get started?"

"Oh yeah! I forgot! Don't be shy! Come on in." Hyusei motions to us and turns to walk into the cave.


	2. Chapter 2

Hyusei walked us deeper and deeper into the cave system, and after what seemed like hours we came upon wooden door lined with Christmas lights. Hyusei opened the door and both Nyanko-sensei and I froze.

Cats. Cats everywhere. Cat posters on the walls, cat-shaped rugs on the floor, even the sofa had cat ears. Now I really felt bad for Nyanko-sensei. My pity for him a couple hours ago was nothing compared to now. I better cut him some slack for putting up with this for my sake.

"Human, go lie on the couch and wait for me." Hyusei pointed to the cat-eared sofa. "Oh, and here." He handed me a cat-shaped throw pillow. It was black with embroidered green eyes, whiskers, and a pink tongue was sticking out of the cat's lips. Someone had really put a lot of time into this. Hyusei spotted me eyeing the pillow.

"Oh! Do you like it? I made it myself! ~" Hyusei said happily. I gave him my nicest smile and said, "Yeah, this is really well made. You're very skilled."

I laid my head down onto the pillow, which I found was soft and squishy. Hyusei soon returned with a light yellow sewing kit that was covered in cat stickers. He took out a needle and pierced his finger, making it bleed.

"Say 'Ah'~.", said Hyusei in an extremely obnoxious baby voice.

Hesitating, I opened my mouth, letting a drop fall in. Huh, why does his blood taste like strawberries?

"Now, please imagine the person of whose memories you wish to enter."

I closed my eyes and began to picture Reiko. Her long dirty blond hair, her golden eyes... her forced smile. I began to imagine the rest of her... I pictured her school uniform…the sailor suit that she wears frequently. 

I could feel my breathing slow as my surroundings began to fall away. I felt like I was floating through space. Then suddenly I felt a breeze on my face. The weight of a schoolbag in my hand. The sensation of hair brushing against my arm as I moved. I opened my eyes to see my new surroundings. It was the late afternoon, the sun was shining through the clouds and yet there was a chill in the air. Is it Autumn? I tried to turn my head to get a better look at my surroundings but I found that I couldn't move. Figures, since I was only in a memory.

Reiko was walking away from a school building, a schoolbag weighing in her hand. She passed many other students along the way but none attempted to make conversation. A couple students sent her looks of disgust or spite, but the majority simply ignored her. Reiko didn't seem to care, and just kept walking to her destination. 

Soon we came to a small dirt path that lead through the woods, she sighed a sigh of relief and eagerly entered the path. 'Almost there', thought Reiko. Ah, so I can hear her thoughts? Nyanko-sensei was right, this youkai is useful.

Soon the dirt path opened to a small clearing. There were lots of wildflowers and the clearing was surrounded by the forest. Reiko plopped down in the grass. Then she grabbed her bag and pulled out a sheet of paper. 'Right, I have homework….actually, does it even matter if I do it or not? Doesn't matter how I answer the questions, they'll find an excuse to fail me. Well, at least it gives me a reason to not do my homework.'

I felt a smile appear on her lips. 'Hmm…there are so many flowers here. I wonder if any of them can be made into tea.. Hinoe might know, oh wait she specializes in poisons and curses, doesn't she? She would probably only teach me how to kill someone using these flowers.' She began giggling, "Well that might prove useful in the future. I have a habit of picking fights after all."

Suddenly, there was a rustling from the bushes nearby. A youkai emerged from the underbrush. It began moving slowly towards Reiko, and I could feel her muscles tense, preparing to defend herself.


	3. Chapter 3

The Youkai emerged from the forest. The youkai had jet black, matted hair that went down it's knees, and a dirty white tattered dress. You could also see paper white skin hidden under the hair.

Holy sh*t. The Grudge is REAL. The youkai stumbled closer and closer and then it began to speak.

"I've heard rumors that there is a young female human that can see us…" ,said the female youkai in a raspy but feminine voice, "There is something I want you to do for me."

Suddenly, she flew up to Reiko's face which gave us a wonderful view of the youkai's bloodshot eyes.

"I want you to make me beautiful."

Wh-what? That is surprisingly normal a task. Normally, they would be like,"You are loney aren't you? If you kill 10 people I'll be your friend." or,"For a mere human you have lots of power, I bet you'd be delicious~" and sometimes "You have a lot of spiritual energy for a human/I've heard of your battles, be my slave."

"O-ok, but can I have your name in return?"

"Oh, yeah I forgot to introduce myself! My name's Okoube! What's your's, human?" said Okoube perkily, wearing a creepy grin.

"Reiko, but I meant that I want your name on paper." Does she not know about the contracts?

"Hmm? Why would you need it on paper?"

"So I can have you as a friend."

"I don't really understand, but if you want to be friends then sure! But only after you fulfill my request." Okoube said with a pout.

"OK, that works for me."

'Make her beautiful, huh? I guess the main thing would be her hair…' Reiko grabbed her schoolbag and pulled out a small hairbrush. She began to attempt to brush Okoube's hair, but as soon as she started brushing the brush became stuck on something. That something began dragging the hairbrush into the deep abyss of black hair. Reiko let go because of shock, also so that she wouldn't be dragged in along with her cheap hairbrush.

'O.O Her hair just ate my hairbrush….WAIT WHAT?! THE HAIR ATE MY HAIRBRUSH! C-calm down-Okoube is a demon after all..t-this should be normal.. *Deep Breaths* I need a Plan-B…let's see here..'

Reiko spotted some colorful wildflowers a couple feet away. 'YESS! GO ME! Colorful flowers like that will even make the Grudge look girlish and adorable!'

Reiko began picking flowers of all colors to weave into Okoube's hair. Blues, violets, yellows, greens, whites, reds, oranges, pinks, ect. were scattered throughout her hair. The hair tried to eat one of the flowers but quickly spit it back out so Plan-B was a win. To top it all off, Reiko also made a flower crown that matched the flowers in her hair.

With the request now complete, Okoube blushing and visibly fidgety, wrote out her name and thanked Reiko graciously.

Reiko watched as Okoube disappeared into the forest. 'Wow she was a weird one, and I lost my hair brush…. but thinking positively, she didn't try to eat me, I didn't have to fight her, and I got another name for my collection.' The thought made her smile.

Suddenly a male voice cut off her thoughts, "Hey Reiko! Was there another one?" I could feel butterflies in Reiko's stomach.

"Yeah!", she called back ,"But for some reason this one didn't want to eat me. Most of the time they do." The man began laughing, "Come on Reiko, you should be happy! Everyone seems to think you look delicious~ hahaha.." Reiko swung around to face him-

"Morning human! Find what you came for?", Hyusei was sitting on Nyanko's neck, grinning like a maniac while playing with Nyanko's ears.

"Hyusei! Is there any way I can go back into the memory?"

Hyusei shook his head slowly. "Sorry human but this magic isn't very specific. Every time you use it, it will stick into a random memory. And frankly, you're a human. Your body won't be able to take another round."

"Natsume, why do you want to go back in? Did you find something?", Nyanko-sensei looked at me expectantly.

"Yeah, actually. I saw a man, he seemed to be on very close terms with Reiko. It cut me off before I was able to get a good look at his face, but I think that there is a chance that he may be my grandfather."

**Author's Note:**

> Muhahaha I've finally gotten around to editing this mess, hopefully they'll be less OOC. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!


End file.
